It is quite obvious that gaining a few vital information on what a hiring manager of a company would be asking in the forthcoming interview, would be great from the view of a candidate preparing for the interview. Quite a number of candidates stumble through interviews as if they are facing questions shot directly from the skies. This is, in fact, a weakness on the part of the candidate as many of those questions can be as simple as expected.
However, going to an interview with a canned set of responses for each question is something that is not advisable. Still spending some time on getting comfortable with what a job seeker might be asked at the interview is much recommended for the candidate, It is also significant to have an idea about what hiring managers really look for in the candidates’ responses, and what it takes to demonstrate that he or she is the right one for the job.
Consider this list of interview questions for a study guide.
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What do you know about the Company?
The company that is hiring, these say definitely has an official website and a dedicated ‘About’ page on it. As any job seeker of the present has the ability to go through that proactively and regurgitate the critical points during the interview, such a question from the board might not be shot with a view to gauging whether the candidate understands their mission. Instead, the thought behind that would be to know if the candidate cares about it.
Starting with a line that shows the candidate understands the goals of the company with the help of a keyword or phrase, or two from the website will definitely stand to impress. Subsequently, going on to make the statement personal to follow up with a personal example would do even better for the candidate. “I personally believe in the depth of this mission”, is a good way to start here.
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Why do you want to work here?
It is widely understood that companies wish to hire people that are passionate about the job. This is why this question calls for a great answer. For a near perfect answer, it is advisable for the candidate to identify a few key factors, which would contend to make the post a convincing fit for him or her. A recommended line here looks like this – “I am passionate about customer care since I have always had a penchant for constant human interaction and the satisfaction I get from it is great as well”. Following this with the reason why the candidate likes the company can work wonders for the person’s job prospect.
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Why do you want this job?
Again, the companies that want to hire people could be keen on candidates that are passionate about the job. Therefore, if such a question is shot at the candidate, he must be having a convincing answer for it. A better way of tackling this question as well is identifying one or two key factors that would seem like making the role suit the candidate ideally. Relating the hiring firm’s goodwill to the expectations of the candidate can really impress the former.
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What relevant experience do you have?
Many a candidate list in the CV that they have a reasonable track of work experience. This could well be taken as monotonous by the hiring company as it is so with almost all candidates appearing before them for the interview. Therefore, instead of just giving a statement such as ‘I am capable’ or ‘hardworking’ or ‘diligent’, the candidate could think about a few things that he had done well in the previous jobs to give concrete examples. For example, if the person is a strong organizer, then he could talk convincingly about a project coordinated by him in his previous job. Stating with credentials about a procedure formulated by the person would give him much leverage at the interviewer’s desk.
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What is your greatest achievement?
An ideal track record in past jobs could deliver amazing results at the interview desk. So the candidate should never be shy while answering this question. For this, the person taking the interview may set up the situation to put forth before the interviewers that vital description. For example, if a candidate sets up a situation with a first state such as, “In my previous job as accounts analyst, my role was the management of invoice process”, he could well follow this with a second key statement. This could be like, “Then the streamlining I had given to the process in a month’s span had saved ten man-hours every month alongside reducing invoice errors by 25 percent.
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What is your greatest strength?
One should be accurate when answering this question. Here, the best advice for the candidate is to share his true strength rather than what he thinks the interviewer wishes to here. While explaining the strengths, the person may choose those that are targeted to that particular position and be specific. Following it up with an example of how he had demonstrated those traits in a professional setting would do a world of good.
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What is your greatest weakness?
The interviewer could be well gauging the candidate’s honesty with such a question. Here, an astute candidate may strike the right balance by not boasting that he is perfect or exposing a weakness of his. Something, on which the candidate is struggling presently but working to improve on, could be given confidently.
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Why should we hire you?
This question should shock the average candidate. But in fact, if asked the candidate should think that he is in luck because there is no set up better for selling himself along with his skills to the hirer. The candidate just needs to see that his answer covers two points. Firstly, he could deliver results rather than just doing work and secondly, he would get accustomed to the fresh team and culture in quick time.
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Do you have any questions for us?
The candidate could take such a question as an opportunity to appraise the job offered. There is no harm in asking boldly regarding the position offered by the company, the team he is supposed to work in, the department where he would be placed or even about the company itself.